Shackle seal



June 18, 1957 w. M. BROOKS EI'AL SHACKLE SEAL Filed Aug. 18, 1955 IN V EN TORS W/A/FKE'D M. BROOKS United States Patent SHACKLE SEAL Winfred M. Brooks, West Orange, and Sigurd M. Mobcrg. Pompton Plains, N. 1., assignors to E. J. Brooks Com pany, Newark, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 18, 1955, Serial No. 529,251

2 Claims. (Cl. 292-307) This invention relates to improvements in seals of the general character disclosed in Patent No. 1,486,947, dated March 18, 1924. More particularly, this invention is chiefly concerned with the objects of making such seals easier to handle and apply, making locking portions thereof interengage more tightly, and causing a shackle por tion of the seal to tighten automatically within a hasp assembly or equivalent securing means of a door or the like.

The foregoing and other more or less obvious objects are accomplished by this invention of which two embodiments are shown for illustrative purposes in the accompanying drawing without, however, limiting the invention to such disclosed embodiments.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a shackle seal according to a first preferred embodiment of this invention as applied to a securing hasp assembly of a railway car door.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of said seal before application to said hasp assembly.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of said seal before such application.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of said seal in partially closed or locked condition, the hasp or equivalent structure being omitted.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational fragmentary view, similar to the upper part of Fig. 3, showing a seal according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a rear elevational view of the seal structure illustrated in Fig. 5.

Referring to the first embodiment, illustrated in Figs. 1-4, the seal is formed by bending, flattening and scoring a suitable length of wire which, preferably, is of aluminum of soft temper. The soft temper is desirable because it enables the seal to be made and to function in the form and manner hereinafter described.

The length of wire is formed to provide, as integral parts of the seal, a flat terminal loop 10 at one end, a flat restricting portion 12 spaced from said terminal loop by a non-twisting locking portion 14, a shackle portion 16 extending from portion 12 to a twistable locking portion 18, and a locking or tightening arm 20 at the other end of the wire. adjoining the twistable locking portion 18.

In use, the seal may tie two members of a hasp assembly together so that they cannot be opened except by breaking the seal, which breaking, except in the event of tampering. would be done only by one authorized to have access to the area held closed by the hasp assembly.

One of many possible hasp and seal arrangements, which may include seals according to this invention. is illustrated in Fig. 1 wherein a side wall of a railway car, fragmentarily shown at 22, has a slide-pin frame 24 suitably fixed thereto. A vertically slidable pin member 26 has a vertically slotted upper end portion 28 slidably held to frame 24 by a button-headed stud 30 and a lower pin portion 32 slidable vertically, within an aperture 36 of an integral horizontal web 38 of the frame 24, between an tiil Patented Jun 18, 1957 uppermost position, wherein its end 34 is above and clear of the web 38 to permit the pin member 26 to be swung to one side about the stud 30, and its lowermost position as shown in the drawing wherein a transverse aperture 40 in pin portion 32 is in horizontal alignment with an aperture 42 in a lug 44 which is integral with frame 24 but spaced from web 38.

A horizontally closable car door, fragmentarily shown at 46, has a lug plate 48 fixed to a side margin thereof. integral with this plate is a locking lug 50 having an aperture 52 therein. When the door is closed, lug 50 extends, as shown, between web 38 and lug 44 with aperture 52 in vertical alignment with aperture 36. Prior to closing of the door, the pin member 26 is swung to one side but, after the door is closed, the pin is swung to a vertical attitude and then dropped to its position shown in the drawing with pin portion 32 extending through both web 38 and locking lug 5t), and with apertures 40 and 42 in horizontal alignment to receive shackle portion 16 of the seal thercthrough.

The terminal loop 10 is flat to prevent it from being straightened without tearing. Additionally, it provides a fiat surface upon which a users initials may be applied to permit one to distinguish between similar types of seals of different users. The breadth of the loop 10 and of restricting portion 12 enables those parts to localize the locking of the seal to the locking portion 14, as will be understood trom the further description herein.

The shackle portion 16 may advantageously be provided with a series of transverse scores 54 which render more easily bendable the part of the wire where they are located. These scores are shown on the front of the device but they could be provided at any side of the Wire. If they are located on the front and are obtusely disposed as r shown, they may be more effective in easing the bending of the wire. The easing of the bending of the wire also contributes to the ease of locking the device in the manner hereinafter described.

The twistable locking portion 18 is defined at its lower end, as viewed in Fig. 2, by an offset 56 formed in the wire, best seen in Fig. 3, and a series of transverse scores 58 are provided in the front of the wire, which series extend upwardly from the offset 56 approximately as far as that portion of the wire will closely encircle locking portion 14.

The scores 58 differ from scores provided for a similar purpose in prior structures in that they extend obliquely upwardly from the outside (i. e., the side of portion 18 nearest to terminal loop 10) of the portion 18 to the inside ol the latter. This oblique disposition of the scores 58 very strongly induces the locking portion 18 to cant toward the outside of the loop of shackle portion 16, as shown in Fig. 4, when the portion 18 is being manually twisted about portion 14 in locking the device.

In prior bendable wire seals, scores somewhat similar to scores 58 have been perpendicular to the length of the wire with the result that bending of the wire would occur in a single plane, causing interference at the bend which could only be overcome by substantial manual force applied to cant the wire from said single plane and thereby enable it to be formed into a locking loop.

The tightening arm 20 preferably includes an end extension 60 which is flattened to provide a broad area for engagement by ones finger when the seal is being applied and locked and, also, to have serial numbers applied there to as a part of the users system of keeping record of the seals. the cars or vehicles on which they are used and the persons who apply and remove them.

In using the disclosed devices, as, for example, to seal the disclosed hasp assembly which has already been put in its closed condition as shown in Fig. 1, the seal, as in its condition shown in Figs. 2 and 3, is sprung apart only enough to permit the tightening arm 20 to be inserted into and through apertures 42 and 40 of lug 44 and pin portion 32 to bring the loop-shaped shackle portion 16 into position within said apertures. Then, the one applying the seal manually bends arm 20 forwardly and upwardly whereupon locking portion 14 becomes seated against locking portion 18 just above the offset 56.

During initial bending, the arm 20 cants to one side as already explained. The mentioned bending is continued and completed to the extent of approximately 360 degrees about locking portion 14, the adjacent flattened parts 10 and 12 assuring that this bending will be thus localized. As there are no scores on arm 20, below the onset 56, the bending action pursues the course of least resistance wherein the scored portion 18 becomes wrapped tightly about portion 14, meanwhile diminishing the size of the loop formation of the shackle portion 16 to some cxtent. in some uses of this type of seal, this diminution in the size of the shackle loop is quite important.

Thus, the offset 56, at the lower or outer end of the scored locking portion 18, assures that when the seal is locked the entire portion of the wire which is wrapped about portion 14 will have the scores 58. In this condition, if an unauthorized person attempts to open the seal by untwisting portion 18 to slip it over the terminal loop 10, the wire will break at some one or more of the scores 58 so that the seal cannot be reapplied to cover up the tampering. If an unscored part of the Wire is included in the portion wrapped about locking portion 14, as might :1

occur absent the offset 56, one tampering with the seal might conceivably spread open said wrapped portion, by using suitable tools, without breaking the seal.

It may be noted that terminal loop 10 is preferably bent downwardly as, if it were bent upwardly, it would interfere to some extent with the manual wrapping of part 18 about part 14 in locking the seal. Also, apertures 40 and 42 preferably are of such dimensions that terminal loop 10 cannot pass therethrough and the other end of the wire cannot pass therethrough unless part 18 is un coiled to substantially straight condition, and this uncoiling cannot occur without a break occuring at scored locking portion 18. Hence, once the seal has been applied, it cannot be removed without being broken.

The scores 54 permit the shackle portion 16 to bend easily at said scores, thereby facilitating formation of portion 16 as a loop. The bending at said scores 58 in applying the seal. being the first bending thereat, will not cause breakage of the seal but subsequent unbending cannot occur to any material extent without breakage.

The second embodiment, illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, differs from the first embodiment only in having additional scores 62 at the back of twistable locking portion 18. These additional scores may be fewer in num bet and spaced further apart than scores 58 and may extend perpendicular to the length of the wire rather than obliquely. With these additional scores, less force is required to close the seal. Said scores will not cause breakage upon application of the seal but give added assurance that breakage of the seal will occur as a result of tampering.

It is possible, for the sake of compactness in packing, for the manufacturer of the seals to supply them to the user in straight form rather than being bent at the shackle portion 16 as shown in Fig. 2. There is some advantage, however, in having the seals formed by the manufacturer to the shape shown in Figs. 2 and 3, as, then, it is more certain that the seals will be properly used.

It should be clear that the present inventive concept may be employed in a variety of seal structures without, however, departing from the invention as set forth in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A shackle seal comprising a length of bendable wire, of substantially circular shape in cross-section, having an intermediate shackle portion bendable into a substantially closed loop, locking portions at opposite ends of said shackle portion, a first of said locking portions being adapted to be twisted closely about the other locking portion and the latter having an enlargement at its outer end to prevent sliding of the twisted first locking portion from its position about said other locking portion; the said first locking portion having a series of oblique scores which facilitate such twisting, so that the wire being twisted is canted toward the enlargement, and the scores also constituting lines of weakness which induce breaking of said first locking portion upon material untwisting thereof.

2. A shackle seal comprising a length of bendable wire, of substantially circular shape in cross-section, having an intermediate shackle portion bendable into a substantially closed loop, locking portions at opposite ends of said shackle portion, a first of said locking portions being adapted to be twisted closely about the other locking portion and the latter having an enlargement at its outer end to prevent sliding of the twisted first locking portion from its position about said other locking portion; the said first locking portion having a series of oblique scores which facilitate such twisting, so that the wire being twisted is canted toward the enlargement, and the scores also constituting lines of weakness which induce breaking of said first locking portion upon material untwisting thereof; said seal further including an offset, at the outer end of said series of scores, adapted to engage and extend partly about said other locking portion during an initial part of such twisting to induce localization of such twisting at said scores.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,152,142 Brooks Aug. 31, 1915 1,486,947 Brooks Mar. 18, 1924 1,576,059 Moritz Mar. 9, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS 431,745 Germany July 21, 1926 

